


Variations to Sochi

by confusedthundercloud



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst and Humor, Getting Together, M/M, Mila Has a Crush on Sara, POV Yuri Plisetsky, Soulmates, Swearing, Time Travel, Victuri Bang 2017, Victuri Big Bang 2017, Yuri Plisetsky Has a Potty Mouth, Yuri Plisetsky Is So Done, Yuri Plisetsky's Embarrassing Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2019-01-26 22:42:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12567836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/confusedthundercloud/pseuds/confusedthundercloud
Summary: Soulmate AU with a twist: if the meeting of soulmates does not go right, a person who is fated to be close to the couple must help them find each other... by reliving the day of meeting as many times as necessary. Yurio gets stuck with the train crash that is Viktor's and Yuuri's first meeting at Sochi.My submission to Victuri Bang 2017. Art by the lovelyCe,here.Now betaed by the lovelyWarriorNun:)





	Variations to Sochi

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! 
> 
> I am still alive!
> 
> I know it has been ages since the last Katsuki Yuuri Fan Club update, but work and uni have been killing me. But I am in the process of writing the next chapter, it is just taking ages... many apologies!
> 
> Please amuse yourself with a soulmate AU in the meantime, and check out [Ce's tumblr](https://ailecstuff.tumblr.com/) and [her art for this fic](https://ailecstuff.tumblr.com/post/166972845995/these-its-my-contribution-for-the)!

_Thunk._

“Oh for fuck’s sake…!” shouts Yuri as he hops on one foot, clutching the other that he managed to bang into the corner of his bed as he was trying to get up with the least amount of movements involved.

“Yura! Language!”

Yuri whips around, overbalances and tumbles to the ground in a painful heap of limbs. He groans.

“Are you okay?” asks Mila, who tries to not sound like she is about to burst out laughing. She fails.

“Baba, have you not heard of knocking?!”

Yuri would like to say that his tone manages to make his idiot of a rinkmate look at least a bit repentant but he is not in the habit of lying to himself. Much, that is. And Mila’s cackling is anything but repentant because she is a vile creature put there to torment aspiring young skaters like Yuri.

“Come on, we will be late from the free skate!” she chirps after she has managed to catch her breath and barely waits until Yuri brushes his teeth and gets dressed before she grabs him and marches him out of his hotel room.

“Baba, slow down! Not all of us are so freakishly tall!” Yuri yells but if anything, Mila’s strides are only getting longer so that he has to jog if he does not want to float behind the redhead like some deranged kite.

It’s not even as if either of them are competing! Still, they get there an hour before the start, but at least they make a pit stop for Yuri to pick up some pastries and for Mila to grab a protein bar. Yuri takes revenge by munching loudly on the perfectly flaky, chocolate-filled pastry while the redhead has to contend herself with the healthy snack as she is scheduled for a photoshoot the following day and the make-up artist in charge has threatened her with bodily harm if she ate anything that makes her break out in pimples. Yuri has worked with that woman before, she has the voice and the demeanour of a drill-sergeant so he is unsurprised to see Mila complying with the rules. Around them the rink fills up with people as the men’s free skate is about to commence. Yuri can see the skaters doing their warm-up on the ice, Vitya’s obnoxious prince costume glittering in the lights. He spots Katsuki Yuuri as well, the Japanese skater who has skated a solid short program and is at the moment at the third place.

“Oooh, look, there is your hero!” chortles Mila and while no-one hears her Yuri does not refrain from punching her in the arm. She just grins at him and does what she would call a friendly shove which nearly pitches him off his seat.

Yuri can feel his face flaming red but he is not one to take an affront sitting down so they quickly devolve into an all-out brawl. They are only separated when Sara Crispino, Mila’s friend – and embarrassing crush, which Yuri could do without knowing but his life sucks so of course he knows – sits down next to them and says hi. Which of course means that Mila drops Yuri – because of course she was lifting him, she is a jerk like that – like a sack of potatoes and chirps hi happily back. Yuri can see the little hearts in her eyes. He feels the urge to hurl.

However, Crispino’s presence means Mila stops annoying him and so Yuri gets to watch the rest of the warm-up in peace. He spots Katsuki again as the other skater is preparing to take off for a jump… a triple axel he botches, touching down on the ice. Yuri feels his brow wrinkle; Katsuki looks death pale, the circles under his eyes are prominent enough that he can see them from his seat, and are his eyes red?

His further perusal of the other skater is interrupted by Giacometti sashaying in front of him, twirling gracefully, if a little provocatively on the ice. Yuri is annoyed but at the same time can’t help but look at the Swiss and wish his own programs showcased him as anything but the innocent child discovering the world. Not Giacometti’s level, of course, he is sure that would get Yakov arrested, but a small cool factor would be great! Or at least a more interesting exhibition program!

His musing is interrupted when the warm-up ends and the skaters ready themselves for the free skate. He sees Giacometti nudge Vitya and send him a cheeky smile to which his rinkmate sends a small smile back too. Sara leaves, joining his brother’s coach to watch Mickey, who, as sixth, is the first one to perform.

The Italian skates beautifully but he touches down on two jumps. With only one quad that means that unless something unforeseen happens, he is definitely off the podium. Sara hugs him as he manfully weathers the reporters’ comments while Cao Bin, the fifth after the short program, takes the ice.

His program is good if unimaginative, but then, that describes him well this season; the rumours of his retirement are as good as confirmed when he steps off the ice and his score is announced: he finishes before Crispino but he is definitely off the podium, and unlike the Italian skater, he does not seem upset, only resigned. Yuri catches Vitya watching him as he walks to the seats that are saved for those competing, but he can’t interpret the odd expression on the other skater’s face.

Leroy is the next on the ice, and Yuri hates to say it, but he does rather well for someone who is relatively new on the senior scene. He is sure he could outskate the wanker, but at the same time, not bad for someone who seems to have maple syrup in his head instead of a brain. Although if he has to see that stupid “J.J. Style!” sign one more time, he might dropkick the guy with his skates on. But his annoyance is quickly forgotten when Katsuki is announced and he elbows Mila not-too-gently to shut up when she starts whispering about whether he plans on throwing some flowers to Katsuki.

But her sniggering quickly turns to shocked silence when Katsuki delivers what is unquestionably his worst performance in the senior circuit, and by the time the Japanese skater staggers off the ice, Yuri is torn between wanting to have his eyes checked out – because that surely wasn’t Katsuki, he just needs glasses – and running up to the other and shaking an answer out of the Japanese because just what the fuck was that, Yuri has seen novices with a better completed jump ratio! Katsuki’s scores are horrible, of course, landing him in sixth spot and the Japanese quickly slinks into the crowd after Giacometti starts his routine.

Yuri admits to blanking out a little, his brain still trying to compute the fail that was Katsuki’s performance, therefore he only tunes in around halfway when Giacometti delivers a resounding smack to his own ass and the crowd goes wild. No-one is surprised to see him take lead – for now, as Vitya has yet to skate – and he seems happy with his score as well. Well, at least he throws kisses enthusiastically at the crowd so he cannot be too upset.

Vitya skates perfectly, as always. Even the smarmy prince costume and the melodramatic music works for him, and of course he finishes first. No new world record, but still, this will be the fifth year when he takes all the golds that are possible to take. It is starting to get a bit old, but there is simply no competition that can touch him… yet. The crowd loves him, of course, and Yuri can see them throwing stupid poodle toys at the ice when the medallists skate their last circle.

He wants to sulk off, not wanting to be grouped into any Team Russia interviews, but Yakov must have ordered Mila to keep him close because the redhead clamps down on his arm and does not let him leave until the others join them. Viktor is a know-it-all, as usual, criticising his step sequences, but Yuri keeps quiet because as self-involved everyone thinks he is, he knows the other skater is right. He thinks he sees Katsuki from the corner of his eyes but the Japanese does not talk to anyone – although a reporter tries his best to grab his attention – as he leaves the rink.

Yuri wrestles on his suit and manages to tie his tie correctly for once, something both Mila and Vitya comment on, because they are horrible people. Nevertheless, they arrive at the banquet just on time and are basically attacked by sponsors and well-wishers the moment they step into the room. Yuri is not surprised; between the three of them, they have a Junior Grand Prix Men’s Singles gold medallist, a Grand Prix Men’s Singles gold medallist – who is also Viktor Nikiforov so the oomph is to the 100th power – and a Grand Prix Ladies’ Singles silver medallist – because Crispino is a powerhouse.

Understanding the press’ enthusiasm doesn’t make it easier to bear, which is why Yuri ends up hiding next to one of the tables the moment Mila lets go of him. He just needs a moment to breathe. He does not seem to be the only one, as a few feet away from him Katsuki is trying to become part of the décor, clutching his single champagne flute like a lifeline. The ‘Please, avoid me!’ vibes he is sending out are so strong that not even the waiting staff come close. Yuri can’t help but watch the other skater, and he does not like what he sees: the hunched position, the red eyes that became more pronounced in the time between the free skate and the banquet and the abject misery on Katsuki’s face screams that he has given up. Yuri catches himself taking a step towards the other, but before he can decide whether he should talk to the Japanese skater or not, Katsuki sighs, puts down his champagne flute and walks away, out of the room.

Yuri is soon recaptured by Mila and is not let out of her sight until they are all trudging back to their rooms, more exhausted than after all the skating. Yakov lets them go with a reminder that they need to stretch before going to bed so that they don’t pull anything during the exhibition, but Yuri feels too tired to care. He knows he is going to regret it come tomorrow, but he just can’t be bothered to care right now. He falls into bed after a quick shower and falls asleep immediately.

* * *

 

_Thunk._

“Oh for fuck’s sake…!” shouts Yuri as he hops on one foot, clutching the other that he managed bang into the corner of his bed again.

“Yura! Language!”

Yuri whips around, overbalances and tumbles to the ground in a painful heap of limbs. He groans. He can’t believe that he fell for the same thing again.

“Are you okay?” asks Mila, who tries to not sound like she is about to burst out laughing. She fails. Yuri fails to see why is it so amusing, given that she has witnessed the same thing yesterday.

“Baba, have you still not heard of knocking?!”

Mila blinks at him, but then she just laughs. Yuri grumbles as he gets to his feet and resolves to put a chair in front of his door the next time he is in a hotel with his rinkmates. Yakov makes them get duplicates of each other’s keys just to ensure no-one ends up locked out and that if someone say, forgets his makeup – _*cough*Vitya*cough*_ – then it is not their coach who has to speed back to the hotel. While the system is logical and has been helpful in the past when Yuri had the unfortunate habit of misplacing his keys, there are serious drawbacks. One of them is standing across him, smirking like a crazy woman.

“Come on, we will be late from the free skate!” Mila chirps when after she has managed to catch her breath.

Yuri blinks.

“What are you on about?”

He blinks at the other, noting the lack of photo-shoot appropriate clothing. He is surprised, usually Mila is a lot more put together about these things, even if she has the unfortunate habit of dragging him with her, saying he needs more exposure. However, now she is back in her Russia tracksuit, which while comfortable, is not something she wears a lot outside of competitions.

Mila blinks back at him.

“The free skate? For Men’s Singles? That is today? Vitya is skating?”

When Yuri does not respond, she frowns and leans in further.

“Did you hit your head that hard? Should I get Yakov?”

Yuri looks at his phone and blinks rapidly. Today is the date of the free skate. He can even hear the commotion of the crowd moving towards the rink from the streets. Clearly, he must have had something weird to eat yesterday – maybe there was something weird in Dedushka’s celebratory pirozhki? It was a day old, but usually that is not a problem – for him to dream something so weird. He shakes his head.

“Give me a second and we can go,” he says as he moves towards the bathroom.

Mila does not seem convinced, but she waits for him and they make their way to the rink in a surprisingly nice silence, stopping for breakfast where Yuri decides to forego the pastries and gets a protein bar as well. Mila blinks at him, puzzled, but she lets it go. Yuri munches on the bar in silence. They sit down with minimal fuss. Around them the rink fills up with people. Yuri can see the skaters doing their warm-up on the ice, Vitya’s obnoxious prince costume glittering in the lights. He spots Katsuki Yuuri as well and it might just be the distance, but the other’s movements seem quite choppy.

“Oooh, look, there is your hero!” chortles Mila.

Yuri can’t hide the full-body flinch at the words that are too much like his dream, but he disguises his reaction by half-tackling her to shut her up. Of course Mila does not leave it at that and tackles him back, which means that Yuri gets more closely acquainted with his chair than what he would prefer.

Trying to beat up his rinkmate commands Yuri’s attention for a while, but when their altercation is broken by Sara Crispino – just like in his dream –, he is quick to turn to the ice, a sinking feeling developing in his stomach.

Everything goes just like in his dream.

Katsuki messes up his triple axel at the warm up. Michele Crispino delivers a decent program but touches down twice. Cao Bin skates well, but nothing to write home about. Leroy does well, but that moniker is still annoying as hell. Then it is Katsuki’s turn. Yuri is so tense he can barely hear Mila’s whispers about throwing flowers to the Japanese skater.

Katsuki skates terribly. No, Katsuki skates _just as_ terribly as he did before, in Yuri’s dream which he is starting to think might be something else completely. He spends the entirety of Giacometti’s skate on his phone; if he is right, there is nothing new the Swiss skater can show him. By the time Vitya takes the ice Yuri has the basics down, but instead of focusing on his rinkmate’s performance, his eyes track the spectators, skaters and coaches he can see. He sees Katsuki leave the rink, again.

Just as before, Mila makes him wait for the others, but he does not mind this time. The spot they stop at is perfect for people watching, and it being inside, people are still going without gloves which is essential for his task of the moment. Vitya and Yakov joins them quickly, and Yuri misses the other skater’s critique of his technique entirely as he stares at Vitya’s right hand. It is gripping the other’s suitcase, and there is nothing out of ordinary about it… if one does not count the red string wrapped around his little finger.

_Oh shit._

“Yura, are you okay?”

Yuri blinks, and Vitya’s face comes into focus. The older skater looks worried and Yakov has stopped his tirade as well, eyeing the blond with concern. He can just how bad he must look like for them to look at him like that. He looks at Vitya’s hand again. The string is still there. The others follow his gaze but nothing registers on their faces. They can’t see it.

_Oh shit!_

“He fell in the morning, coach, maybe it’s that!” Mila butts in and Team Russia quickly descends into chaos. They drag Yuri to the infirmary and do not let him leave until the doctor proclaims him completely healthy, bruised feet notwithstanding. By that time the rink is nearly empty and Yuri stomps back to the hotel after finally managing to shake his well-meaning shadows.

He locks his door after himself, sits down on his bed and whips out his phone. The website with the checklist is still open and he reads it with growing distress.

Knowing specific details of events that he should not. Check.

Being able to deviate from his own remembered actions. Check.

Seeing at least one person with red string on their right pinkie with the red string being only visible to him. Check.

The conclusion is clear: some cosmic power decided that Yuri is the person who shall have to make sure that Vitya meets his soulmate the right way… or he will be cursed to re-live the same day over and over again. Yuri swears up a storm.

No-one really knows how soulmates work. Only a relatively small part of the population has them, and for those it is often a blessing mixed with a curse. Because while once they find each other they are indeed perfect for each other, before that moment the partners are often miserable. Scientists have theorised that the time loop is meant to ensure that once they encounter each other, their meeting goes well enough to prevent further separation and misery. Even fewer people can explain why is it not one of the soulmates who loops but a person close to one or both of them. Some theorise it is to ensure the soulmates do not forego social ties outside of their bond. Regardless of the reason, the fact is that instead of one or both part of the soulmate pair, the aptly named helper loops. And on top of it all, being a soulmate pair’s helper tends to mean that the helper’s life is meant to be closely interlocked with that of the pair’s.

It is the topic of at least four dozen romantic comedies, often with the helper starting out having feelings for one of the soulmates for maximum drama. Yuri would know, Gosha is obsessed with those films, and he has hijacked movie-nights enough times to make them watch a new one for Yuri to be able to recite the generic plot in his sleep. Then the helper realises that their feelings are more sibling-like and has a great enlightening moment where they see how the soulmates’ love is pure and sacred and perfect, engineers some dramatic meeting between the two where they fall in love and watches them ride into the sunset with a sappy smile.

Yuri hates those films with a passion and now he managed to become the helpful sidekick in Vitya’s grand romance! Because of course Vitya has a soulmate and the idiot could not even meet them the right way, his head was probably too full of skating and poodles to realise the perfect person for him was nearby. Stupid.

Yuri would continue to grumble but Yakov knocking to remind him that the banquet is about to commence and that he is not exempt from it as he is completely fine disturbs his plans. He dresses quickly and finds himself in the banquet hall with his rinkmates attempting to pretend like they are not watching him to make sure he really is well, the worrywarts. The sponsors also swarm them, Yakov having postponed the press conference to the next day as they were all busy fawning over Yuri. While his coach reassures the people who keep them in the business that no, no-one was injured and everyone is fine, please stop before someone escalates a rumour again, it was bad enough when one of the Crispino twins got the flu and the press has declared that both were dying, Yuri manages to sneak away. He walks around the room, glancing at people’s hands from the corner of his eyes, although it cannot be a skater, surely, they have all met Vitya before?

His meandering draws him to the buffet table Katsuki is standing next to and all his wishes for him to be cool when he meets his idol are crushed when he has to duck behind the other to hide from Mila, who walks by calling for him. She smiles at Katsuki but luckily, she does not stay for a chat, which means that Yuri can crawl out from under the table. The Japanese skater does not make any mean comments but that might also be because Yuri’s sudden invasion of his ‘Do Not Disturb!’ bubble seem to have shocked him speechless.

“Um. Hi,” mumbles Yuri, blinking up at the other.

Katsuki blinks, rapid, confused blinks that should not be that cute on a 24-year-old man but they are. His fans agree, which is why there are numerous compilations of him blinking adorably at things. Yuri might have gotten a bit off the track.

“Hello,” the Japanese skater answers, offering a hand to Yuri who realises that maybe he should continue this conversation standing up and not kneeling on the floor like some moron who has hidden under a table because he did not want to face his sponsors. Right, that would be a great idea.

He wordlessly grabs the other’s hand and lets Katsuki pull him to his feet. He does so with an ease that is not incredibly hot, not at all. Oh whatever, fine, it is hot, but Yuri is fifteen, he is at the age when it is all but expected that his dick hijacks his brain a few times! He swallows, glances down for a second to gather himself, but then feels the air around him freeze.

Katsuki’s right hand is still holding onto him, making it very easy for Yuri to see the red string tied around the other skater’s little finger.

Of course. Of-fucking-course Katsuki is Vitya’s soulmate because why would he not be? His step sequences and Vitya’s jumps, for fuck’s sake, even their skating is complementing each other! Of course, Yuri’s idol would end up with his too-perfect-for-his-own-good, idiot of a rinkmate! And of course, fate would hate Yuri enough that he would have to play matchmaker for the two!

“Um. Plisetsky-san? Are you okay?”

Yuri yanks his head up and the moment he meets Katsuki’s eyes, he can feel his face grow warm. Yuri Katsuki knows his name! Yes, he knows that as the Grand Prix Junior Men Single’s gold medallist he is probably in the periphery of most senior skaters, after all, he is the upcoming competition, but knowing that and hearing Katsuki call him on his name is a different thing.

“Um,” Katsuki mumbles and gently detangles their hands. Yuri sees the stupid string and the warmth leaves his face with astounding speed.

_He has to play matchmaker to Vitya and Katsuki._

“Congratulations to your win,” Katsuki demurs and Yuri just can’t take this anymore.

He turns around and runs out of the room, Katsuki’s confused calls echoing in his ears. Vitya spots him too but the other skater stops in his approach. Yuri would like to think that is his fierceness that stops him but it is more likely that the tears he can feel sliding down his cheeks are the ones to thank. Nevertheless, he makes it out of the ballroom and up to his room in record time. He throws himself on his bed, not bothering with stretching; after all, the day will start anew tomorrow, it is not like it will do any good.

Laying in the dark, he lets the tears fall.

* * *

 

_Thunk._

“Oh for fuck’s sake…!” shouts Yuri as he hops on one foot, clutching the other.

“Yura! Language!”

He manages not to fall this time and he just scowls at the redhead. Mila just grins at him.

“Come on, we will be late from the free skate!” she chirps, moving to grab him, but Yuri evades her in the last minute.

“Go ahead, I want to check something out,” he says, shoeing the other out of his room.

Mila looks confused first but then she grins.

“Are you getting flowers for your hero? How cute!” she sing-songs.

“Shup up, Baba!” Yuri yells, towing her out of his room.

“Don’t be late!” she yells through the closed door, but then Yuri hears her leave.

He dresses as quickly as he can and he makes his way towards the rink, not wasting time to stop for breakfast. He needs to figure out where Katsuki is.

After his – totally understandable! – breakdown he had some time to consider the situation before he fell asleep. He recalled Katsuki’s red eyes and the fact that before the free skate, the Japanese was third in the competition, a position he was expected to keep. And Yuri remembers his face at the end of the short program, it was completely fine, nothing like the puffy eyes red from crying he was sporting when he took to the ice before the free. Therefore, clearly, he was meant to meet Vitya on the podium but something went wrong. If Yuri can fix whatever it was, they will meet and he can get out of this situation and forget his role in what will inevitably become a sappy love story.

He can do this. He just needs to find Katsuki before whatever upset him upsets him, prevent said thing and it will be all good. Katsuki is a loner, which would normally make him impossible to find – Yuri would know, he has tried before – but he is also basically locked into the rink with the other skaters, which means there are only a limited number of places he could go to be on his own. And luckily Yuri is on the home turf here. He takes off towards the first-floor bathrooms that are far enough from the dressing rooms, the rink and the entrance that they are usually overlooked by everyone.

The Japanese he hears the moment he steps into the men’s bathroom confirms his hunch but the despair he can hear in the other skater’s voice also tells him that he is already late. Yuri freezes as one of the cubicles opens and out walks Katsuki, eyes red and still full of tears, turned off phone in his hand. The Japanese skater stops as well, clearly, he did not expect an audience to his breakdown. They stare at each other. Katsuki sniffles.

“Excuse me,” Katsuki starts and only then does Yuri realise that he is standing in the door, effectively cutting off the other’s escape route.

He steps out of the way and Katsuki starts toward the exit. He is nearly in front of Yuri when he finally manages to find his voice.

“What happened?”

Yuri wants to bash his own head in. He could have just offered the other a tissue but no, he had to butt his head in the other’s business, like he is some bad reporter trying to get a scope. He is an idiot.

“Never mind,” he starts backpedalling but Katsuki interrupts him before he can dig himself into an even deeper hole.

“My dog died,” Katsuki says and repetition or not, _Oh shit_ seems to be the only thing that is sufficient in describing the situation.

Yuri wants to find whoever is responsible for this situation and kick them into the next day. Who tells someone their dog has died right before he is about to skate?! Katsuki might be awesome but not even he can deal with that kind of pressure!

“… I called them, they had to tell.”

 _Oh_.

Yuri was speaking out loud. He feels dizzy from the rush of blood to his head. He is an idiot.

Still, when he dares to look at Katsuki, the other skater looks more put together, the tears gone from his eyes. He looks at Yuri with a quiet half smile which grows wider when Yuri blushes a deeper red.

“Thank you, Plisetsky-san,” Katsuki murmurs and steps to leave the room.

And, well, Yuri has already made a fool of himself, he might as well go full-out.

“I think your steps sequences are the best in the whole competition! I know you can do this and do your dog proud!” he yells, then he wishes desperately for the ground to swallow him up.

He does not dare to look at Katsuki. After all, why would the other skater care what Yuri thinks? He is such an idiot!

Someone touches his shoulder.

“Thank you, Plisetsky-san. I will do you proud,” murmurs Katsuki, then he leaves and only after the door closes after him does Yuri allow himself to turn around. The bathroom is empty. Katsuki is gone. If he concentrates, Yuri can still feel his touch on his shoulder… his fingers were steady, as was his voice. Could it be that this was all it took?

Yuri is broken out of his thoughts by the announcer calling Michele Crispino to the ice and he breaks into a sprint, the bathroom door swinging shut in his wake.

“Where were you?” asks Mila when he plops down next to her after he jostled his way to their seats.

Yuri shrugs but Mila’s questioning is silenced when Cao Bin takes to the ice. The Chinese skater performs just like before, but Yuri cannot pay attention, he is too busy trying to seek Katsuki out with his eyes. Vitya’s hair shines in the light, the older skater watching the free skate with shadowed eyes, but Katsuki remains in the shadows throughout Cao Bin’s and Leroy’s programs. Yuri only finds the Japanese skater when Katsuki is about to step on the ice, and the lights make it impossible to see the other’s facial expression.

Katsuki takes to the ice and his music starts.

His skating starts choppy but as the music gets more intense his movements become smoother until he seems weightless on the ice. He stumbles on a jump but the rest of his program goes well and he finishes to a roaring applause. He takes the leading position.

Giacometti finishes ahead of him and so does Vitya, making Katsuki the bronze medallist. Yuri sees him blink at the crowd from the podium, looking shell-shocked as he stands next to Vitya and bows to the crowd.

“Come on, let’s go!” Mila yanks Yuri around as they take off in the direction of their rinkmate… who is talking to Katsuki.

“… your step-sequences were truly impressive!” Vitya enthuses, as Giacometti grins at the blushing Japanese skater he is standing next to.

“Thank you,” bows Katsuki, but it seems like the rest of his words have deserted him.

“Congratulations, all!” chirps Mila, bouncing over to the trio and dragging Yuri with her.

“Thank you my dear…” demurs Giacometti who still cannot stop himself from flirting with everything that moves. Vitya just smiles at them, but it is more of a press-smile than anything honest.

“And to your silver. And your gold, Plisetsky-san,” he responds and Yuri can feel Mila grin at him, even though she is standing behind him.

“Yuri is fine,” he mumbles, and for once the press proves to be useful because they descend onto them just at the right moment.

The trio leaves for interviews and Yakov threatens Mila and Yuri with two hours of suicides if they leave before the Team Russia interviews so they stick around. Yuri keeps looking at the table the three medallists are seated at, but while Vitya and Katsuki both have polite smiles on their faces, there is none of the fireworks he would expect to see around a soulmate meeting.

Whatever, clearly, Gosha’s films are playing with his mind.

After Vitya’s interview they suffer through the Team Russia group interview, and by the time they finish both Giacometti and Katsuki are gone. They have to rush to get ready for the banquet, but for once Yuri is not annoyed by having to put on a tie; having lived this day twice before he is now ready to move on and actually go home. He misses Potya.

They find Katsuki in a circle of sponsors, the man clearly uncomfortable by their regard. Their appearance is quickly noted and Yuri spends the next few minutes attempting small talk while doing his best pretending he is not wishing to be anywhere else. He escapes them the first moment he can, but even though this gives him a great opportunity to observe Vitya and Katsuki, the imaginary he is presented with does not match the idea of people who have realised they have met their matches. He can’t see their hands from the distance so he has no way of knowing whether the strings have disappeared from his sight, just like they were supposed to once the correct meeting has happened, but this must be it, he cannot think of any other way that it could happen.

Still, the two of them do spend some time talking before Katsuki excuses himself, so Yuri just thinks maybe this means that they won’t be so obnoxious like all soulmate couples are meant to be. He falls into bed tired but satisfied.

* * *

 

_Thunk._

Yuri does not even have it in himself to swear as he stares at his foot that he just banged into the bed. Again.

_No fucking way._

He dives for his phone, hands shaking as he unlocks the screen. The calendar app is helpful in letting him know that it is indeed the day of the Men’s Singles Free Skate. The growl that breaks out of Yuri would not be out of place on a tiger and after changing as fast as he can, he just sprints out of his room, nearly bowling over Mila who was about to open his door by the looks of it.

“Yura, what’s wrong?” the redhead yells after him, but Yuri does not stop to explain himself.

He runs down the hotel corridor, ready to hunt down Katsuki and confiscate his phone if necessary. He explodes into the small lobby and nearly misses the hunched figure of Vitya, if not for the shine of silver hair in the morning light. The older skater looks up at the ruckus.

“Morning Yura. Is everything alright?” Vitya smiles, but his eyes look blank, devoid of their usual shine.

Yura stops, and looks at the other skater for the first time in what feels like forever. He looks and he remembers thinking Vitya looked weird over the past few days, and he realises that this lack of lustre, lack life was what he saw. He thinks back and also realises that this has been going on for what feels like weeks but could might as well be months.

“What’s wrong with you?” he blurts out.

Well, no-one has ever accused him of being subtle.

Vitya flinches. It is miniscule, no-one who does not know him would notice, but no matter how annoying the other skater is, Yuri has looked up to him and that involves observing his mannerisms whenever he had to chance to. He notices.

“What do you mean, Yura?” Vitya laughs, but even that seems forced, “Everything is fine!”

Yuri does not have time for this bullshit. He sees the other’s phone, open on some article or such and does not waste time in asking for it, just tears it out of Vitya’s hand, dancing back to ensure he is out of reach.

“Hey!”

He looks down, the article is one of the many that tend to crop up during competition time to discuss whether Vitya will be retiring by the end of the season. They have started appearing more frequently once the other turned 25, but he never thought Vitya paid any attention to them. Looking at the other skater and recalling his face during the previously observed competitions, it is clear that the articles do affect his rinkmate.

Yuri blinks. He has been certain that if there was anything standing in the way of Katsuki’s and Vitya’s perfect meeting, it was to do with the Japanese skater. After all, Vitya had the perfect life, he had all the success a skater could ever want, his fans and the press adored him for most of the time, and due to his success with his sponsors he would never need to worry about his finances. And Yuri knows he is being unfair, but he remembers thinking when he first saw the red string on the older skater’s fingers, that he couldn’t help but think:

_All of that, and a soulmate too? This is unfair!_

But as he looks at Vitya’s hunched shoulders, he feels like a film is lifted from his eyes. And instead of the perfect life he sees countless hours spent practicing, little to no contact with his family and friends who are all absorbed in the world of skating, not seeing Vitya as a person, only as a skater. Shame burns hot on Yuri’s cheeks.

“Yura?” Vitya blinks at him, not even looking angry that he swiped his phone, likely used to everyone butting their heads in his business. Likely waiting for Yuri to make some scathing comment regarding his age.

_Fuck that._

“Heh, these morons are getting quite repetitive! They are still going on this retirement bullshit, like they did not get it completely wrong before!” Yuri scoffs, tossing the phone back to the other skater.

Vitya blinks bemusedly at him. Funnily enough, the fast, confused blinks are just like Katsuki’s. Their fanbases are going to flood the Internet with compilations once they start dating. Yuri expects the thought to hurt, but looking at the mess in front of him and knowing that at this very moment Katsuki is likely bawling his eyes over his dog with every intention of not telling anyone and just sucking it up, Yuri can’t help but think:

_These two messed-up idiots deserve each other._

Vitya opens his mouth but whatever he was going to say is lost when the speakers turn on.

“Attention, please! The Men’s Singles Free Skate is about to commence. All participants, please make your way to the rink!”

Yuri freezes.

_Oh shit!_

He did not go to Katsuki.

Vitya gets up, pocketing his phone.

“Coming, Yura?” he smiles at him, the blankness having receded a bit from his eyes. Well, good for him, his soulmate is still going to be a fucking mess, because Yuri is shit at time management.

Yuri nods, not being able to come up with a verbal answer and together they make their way to the rink where he makes their way to Mila while Vitya joins Yakov.

“Yura? Where were you?” asks the redhead, and Yuri can see her frown when she gets no answers, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

He can see that Mila is not convinced, which is understandable, he probably looks like someone threatened to take away his cat. He closes his eyes. He is not sure he can watch Katsuki fail again, but he has no choice; Mila would never let him leave.

So he watches. Everything goes the way it all went the first time. Crispino is clumsy, Cao Bin is boring, Leroy is annoying as hell. Katsuki is a disaster. Giacometti could probably take up burlesque once he retires. Vitya is perfect. Yuri spots Katsuki sitting on a bench with his phone in his hands, hunched onto himself and rage starts to bloom in him

He sees Mila moving to grab him after the medal ceremony is over, but he evades her touch, jumping up and muttering about needing the bathroom. He needs to get out before he sees Vitya’s empty smile or Katsuki’s shattered expression and explodes. His feet take him to the unused first floor bathrooms, which are empty as usual. Yuri breathes deeply.

He needs a new plan. Katsuki is not the only one that needs to be fixed, but he does not know how to break the bleakness in Vitya’s eyes. How does one go about solving a problem that has been festering for months, maybe even years without everyone noticing! And he thought that seeing his crush meet his soulmate and consoling said crush about his dog’s death was hard! There is no way he can pull this off!

His breathing grows harsher as his eyes start to sting with unshed tears.

He is not going to cry, dammit! He will make sure those two useless, idiotic people meet the right way so that he can kick both of them after for it all! No matter how idiotic and messed up and ridiculous…

There is somebody in the toilet.

Yuri freezes as the first words of Japanese hit his ears. Katsuki. Katsuki is in the toilet. Of course. Yuri plans on leaving, on letting this day end uninterrupted, but when he hears the other skater start to cry, he snaps.

He is not sure what he is yelling at the Japanese skater, all he sees red, and all he can think of is the horror stories he read online about people being stuck in loops for years because something was never right in the meeting and how he was supposed to move into senior level next season but what if he stays in this loop for too long, he will forget everything and his career will be over before it ever really began…

He is under a lot of stress okay?!

He stomps away from Katsuki, and it takes him approximately ten seconds to go from righteous anger to wanting to find a nice dark place where he can hole himself up until the end of time.

_How to introduce yourself to your idol by Yuri Plisetsky: just yell at him and call him an idiot! Leaves a lasting impression for sure!_

Before he can finalise his plans of living as a mole-person in the sewers, Vitya and Mila find him. The older skaters frog-march him to the lobby where Yakov yells himself red at him for missing the interviews. It seems like Vitya is also feeling like criticizing him again and as they are leaving the lobby, he starts on Yuri’s step sequences. Yuri just does not want to listen to this shit right now and snaps back at him, which of course sets Yakov off again. While Yakov calls Yuri everything from juvenile to a stubborn mule, Vitya finds a fan… who turns out to be Katsuki, because of course Yuri has managed to somehow engineer the most ridiculous and demeaning meeting between soulmates of all time, congratulations to him. Katsuki walks away, leaving Vitya behind.

“That was a skater,” Yuri can’t help but point it out, interrupting Yakov mid-tirade.

“I know, Katsuki Yuuri from Japan! He is one of the few skaters I don’t have photos with…!” Vitya waves his phone and Yuri recalls just what a nerd the other is sometimes.

He had enough of this day. But of course, it is far from over; they go back to the hotel where Yakov sends him off to dress. Yuri yanks on his suit, methodically ties his tie and before he realises it they are off to the banquet. He can see Vitya and Mila eyeing him with worry but he just can’t bring himself to care. It’s not like the day won’t repeat itself, so really, he feels like he does not need to pretend to be happy to be there.

He does not see Katsuki come in which is probably for the best. In fact, he has no idea where the Japanese skater is until Katsuki stumbles up to them, champagne bottle in his hand, clearly smashed, and dares him to a dance battle. And Yuri would like to stress on the fact that he is a teenager and therefore prone to stupid decisions, such as accepting the challenge of a drunken skater. So he does. Katsuki wipes the floor with him.

And while this in itself would be embarrassing enough, it does not stop here. Katsuki goes on to pole dance with Giacometti and he also takes Vitya for a dance or two. And requests that Yuri’s rinkmate coaches him, as if Viktor-would-forget-his-own-head-if-it-wasn’t-attached-to-his-neck-Nikiforov could be a good coach!

Yuri might still be a bit bitter about the whole my crush’s soulmate is my rinkmate thing and therefore he might be judging Vitya’s coaching abilities too harshly. The glass of champagne he stole is probably not helping.

In the end, Vitya and Giacometti are the ones who take Katsuki back to his room to sleep it off and Yuri staggers up to his, too knackered to do more than take his jacket and tie off. He is out like a light in no time.

* * *

 

_Thunk._

“Oh just go fuck yourself.”

“Yura! Language!” gasps Mila from the door.

Yuri sighs. His head hurts.

“Five more minutes. It’s not like we are skating,” he mutters, rubbing his foot.

“What do you mean? Of course we are skating, you can’t just skip your exhibition!” Mila exclaims, and Yuri stiffens.

He looks up at the redhead. Mila is in her Team Russia tracksuit with her exhibition costume peeking out from under the unzipped jacket. She is without make-up but she usually puts it on at the rink.

“What.”

Mila blinks.

“What do you mean, what? Come on, get dressed or Yakov will have our heads!” she pulls his exhibition costume out from his wardrobe. “Come on, Yura!”

Yuri moves, taking the clothes from her. As he does so he looks at himself. He is still in half of his suit from the gala. His phone on his bed announces that it is indeed the next day, as well as that it has 15% of battery left.

_What the fuck._

He gets dressed on autopilot, after which Mila drags him out to breakfast. He is cradling a mug of coffee when Vitya, grin so wide it looks like it might split his face, joins them.

“Good morning, Yura, morning, Mila!” the older skater chirps, sitting down with an orange juice and some fruit.

Mila greets him while Yuri only grunts. He can’t help but glance at Vitya’s finger, and just as he thought, the string is gone, faded back to invisibility.

_What the fuck?!_

Vitya keeps on fidgeting, clearly looking for someone. It does not take a genius to guess who his target is, and even if they were uncertain, he confirms their suspicions when he flat out asks them if they saw Katsuki this morning. They haven’t. Neither did anyone else they encounter before the exhibition either; the general consensus is that the Japanese skater is probably sleeping off his hangover.

Yuri is relieved. He does not want to face the other after the series of embarrassments that is the previous day. It is better if Vitya takes up the Japanese skater’s time for now, at least until Yuri can devise a way to ask for Katsuki’s forgiveness.

But Katsuki does not show up after the exhibitions either. In fact, when Vitya goes up to the hotel’s reception desk to ask after the other, it turns out that he has already checked out and left for the airport. Yuri watches as Vitya’s smile dims to a confused frown and fights the urge to kick something.

_What. The. Fuck._

They leave Sochi. They prepare for Europeans and go. Katsuki bombs his Nationals, is not sent to Four Continents either. Team Russia goes to Worlds. By the time Vitya is skating his free skate, his eyes are back to that dull, blank blue. They all know that he has taken to carrying his phone everywhere, against Yakov’s express orders, in order to be able to answer if Katsuki were to contact him. But there are no calls, twitter, Facebook or Instagram messages, there is nothing.

Then Katsuki skating Stammi Vicino goes viral.

They are back in St. Petersburg by the time the video reaches them and Yakov has given them a few precious rest days, which is why they don’t realise that Vitya has up and quitted skating to jet off to Hasetsu until the idiot geotags himself.

Yuri would like to think that he reacts maturely to all of this, but the evidence of him hopping on the first plane shows otherwise. He would also never admit it, but after spending days trying to subtly nudge the two idiots towards each other and then succeeding in the most disastrous way possible, he does not have the confidence that they won’t manage to screw everything up.

Also, Vitya _so_ owes him a program.

That he is proven right when Katsuki nearly breaks up with Vitya – or doesn’t? the accounts on this are confusing, even when they are of the two participants of the conversation – at the Grand Prix Final is alarming, but at least the two losers manage to patch things up.

Of course, then Vitya goes to announce his return as a skater while staying as Katsuki’s coach, a decision the Japanese skater is in clear support of, which is the most ridiculous idea ever. Yuri is not at all excited that Katsuki is now going to train with them. Neither is he excited that he gets to compete against both Vitya and Katsuki.

That would be stupid.

Just ask Beka.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Talk to me on [tumblr](https://confusedthundercloud.tumblr.com/)!


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